Refrigeration device



April 14, 1942. V L. F. CLERC REFRIGERATION DEVICE Filed Sept. 20, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 q l l I INVENTOK Leonard TClerc April 14, 1942. I 1.. CLERC 2,279,558

REFRIGERATION DEVICE Filed Sept. 20, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. Leonard F Clerc Qttq.

Patented Apr. 14, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

. r 2,279,558 r REFRIGERATION DEVICE,

Leonard F. Clerc, Chicago. 111. Application September 20,1940, Serial No; 357,573 I t I (01'. 62-895).

Y 12 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigeration apparatus and particularly to a -mechanical refrigeration device which may be employed in v ings. it will be seen' that in general 'my improved refrigerator cabinet comprises an outer housing stores, meat markets, and the like, for the ,eflicient handling of perishable merchandise. can also be used 'as a domestic refrigerator.

An object of" the invention isflthe provision of a device of the'character referred to which has or shell Ill; an inner shell ll, and a rotatable storagefseetion l2.

; The lower" part l4of the cabinet consists of a a plurality of storage compartments; all of which are made equally accessible from the outside of the cabinet.

Another object of the invention is the .pro-

vision of a refrigerator cabinethaving a rotatlng storage section provided with a plurality of compartments and means for automatically controlling the selection of the compartments.

single shell which p'rovidsfa. housing for. the principarmechanical parts. of; the device. The outer shells l and 14 are secured .by..suitable means to a skeleton framework made up of fabricated angle iron asa' I5,- into the desired shape to form the contours-shownin Figs. 1, 2

1 and 3. It'will be noted that the outer and inner Another object of the invention 'is the provision of a refrigerator cabinet having meansfor automatically defrosting theinterior thereof.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a refrigerator cabinet having a readily accessible display section at the top.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a cabinet having a rotating storage section with means to insure the safety of the users thereof. v v

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent as the description proceeds, reference being made from time to time to the accompanying drawings forming part of this disclosure, 'in

which drawings: a p c Fig. 1' is a front elevation of a refrigerator cabinet embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section, with parts in. elevation and parts broken away, taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view ofthe trated in Fig. 1, with parts broken away to illustrate the'relative' portion of the parts.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail in section, taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1, and illustrating the arrangement of the push buttons and name plate elements. I

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail taken or. the line 55 of Fig. 6, showing the arrangement of thespring actuated hinge.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail taken on the line 8-6 of Fig. 1, illustrating the solenoid lock ing device for the door. 7

7 Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the selector disc and circuit breaker.

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the electrical circuits employed in my device.

Referring now more particularly to the drawdevice illus- Y shells Ill and II are broken as at It, so that there is a minimumof heat and cold conduction between thetop l1 and the sidemembers. The

top 11 isprefer ably formed r wood andis' provided with windowslB made of a transparent plastic material and an opening l9, over which is fitted the cover 20. V

The cabinet is provided atthe front with a largedoorf 2|, through which access is had'to mechanical elements.

.the interior. Ventilating doors 22 are provided at the. bottom "of the compartment housing .the

The rotatable storage section 12 consists of two perforated shelves 23 and .24; eachof which v is divided into eight compartments (Fig. 3). The

shelves 23 and 24 areprovidedwith perforated outside walls 25, which are approximatelyhalf.

ashigh as the space between the two shelves H 23 and 24, so that commodities carried in the compartments can be readily reached. when the compartmentsare positioned in front of the door 2|. The division wall 25a of the compartments are also perforated, but extend the full distance between the-shelves 23 and '24 and-between the shelf 24 and the section coverv 25b, and serve as supports. v Q

The shelves 23 and 24 are supported on a shaft 26. which is 'joumaled at, top-and bottom in bearings 21 and 28. The principal weight of the rotatable section '2 is supported by the wheels 2Q arrangedgto travel on the track. 20,

which is mountedon the member}! which is welded or otherwise suitably secured to the framework l5. 7 w 7 7 Another horizontal member. 32 .is secured to the framework I5 and is adapted to support the bearing 28 and other elements hereinafter de- 1 scribed. The shaft 26 is driven by a sprocket.

33, chain 34 and a. sprocket 35 which is mounted atthe end of the shaft 38,. which isj-driven through the reduction gear asseinbly' 21 by the motor 38, the latterbeing supported'as at 3!, by

1 provides. suitable layer -offlinsulation l3 between th shells lllar'id ll.

I bolts and nuts or other r border to reduce to a the layer of 1 met which accumulates on the interior of the outer periphery button switch 51 for each positioned one above the other.

1 manually operated.

display spaces, adapted to carry baskets or other containers which are visible through the windows l8 and accessible through the opening IS. The rack 4| is supported by wheels 45 which are arranged totravel in the track 4 mounted on the horizontal member 41" which is secured to the framework l I.

The refrigeration machine and its driving motor a are'positioned in the bottom ofthe cabinet. The machine 48 is connected to the inner shell -I I. I direct contact with the shell H by means of one or more clamps 5|, which, extend around the shell H, from either side of the door 2| to the back, where their ends are fastened together by suitable means.

shell H, I provide a scraper 5|, which is prefercoils I! which extend along the outside of the The coils are preferably held in ably made of hard rubber and secured to the of the rotatable section l2.

85d; holds the locking pin out I also provide a scraper 52 on the bottom of the section II. The lower scraper 52 is adapted to move the frost, dislodged from the sides by the scraper 8|, into a -D Opening .53, formed in the member II and hence into a removable catch receptacle 54, which is slidably mounted under v the member 3|.

I will now describe the control and selection means employed with this cabinet. It will be remembered that the shelves 23 and 24, com.- prising the rotatable section II, are partitioned into eight compartments each. Therefore I provide eight control stations for the rotation of section I2. The controls include a non-conductive selector disc 55, which is provided with eight electrical contact elements or switches. 56 arranged in predetermined positions thereon, and connectedto a source of electrical energy and respectively connected to push button switches 51 (Figs. '1 and 8) which are positioned on the front exterior of the cabine Thereis a push two compartments insert a double acting set of chimes 62 which signals the starting and stopping of the motor 38. I also provide display lights 63, which are on all the time, and box lights 64 which are controlled by a door switch 65. In addition thereto I provide a solenoid door locking device 66, which will be describedmore in detail hereinafter. The door locking device 66 is intended to keep the door locked while the rotating section I! is in motion, for safety purposes. The locking device 68 is controlled through relays 61 positioned in the push button 51 circuits.

In Fig. 5, I illustrate the spring arrangement for holding the door 2! in closed position. In Fig.6, I show a detail of the solenoid device 66 used to lock the door 2|, while the rotating section of the cabinet is in operation.

In this view Fig. 6, the device is shown adapted to be positioned in the wall ID of the cabinet. The device comprises a solenoid 66, a heavy core 661: which is held in elevated position when the solenoid is energized, and falls by gravity when 1 the solenoid is 'de-energized. The core 66a is secured to a rocker arm. 66b pivoted as ,at 660. At the other end of the rocker armGSb is the plunger 66;; which serves as a locking pin. A spring 66e,'assisted by the weight of the core of locking position ,when the solenoid is not energized.

can bereadily The device is The operation of the device understood from the foregoing.

first connected to a suitable source of electrical 7, current. The desired commodities are then placed in their respective compartments and the 'When the" breaker 68 strikesthe switch 56, its

Opposite each switch 51 on the exterior of the cabinet (Fig. 1) are positioned two identification plates II, each of which identifies the contents of one 'of the compartments. The plates "are labels or markers are positioned on the outside ofthe'cabinet'adiacent the several push button switches. If it is desired to reach a certain compartment the push button for that compartment is pushed closing a circuitgwhicli actuates the motor 38 causing the section l2 to rotate. The closing of that circuit also energizes the relay 6'! which in turn causes. the locking device 66 to be actuated, thereby causing the door 25 to be held in locked position while the section I! continues to rotate. Upon the commencement of rotation of the section I2, the chimes 82 will ring indicating that. the device is operating. l

The section i2 will rotateuntil the contact breaker 68 strikes the switch 56 which is in the s'ame circuit with the push button just operated.

circuit will be opened and the motor 38 will stop. By the same token the section I! will stop its rotation and thecompartment corresponding to the push button just operated will then be infront of the door 2|. At the same instant the door locking solenoid 66 be de-energized so that the door 2! may be opened. Likewise the solenoid of the chimes 62 will be de-energized, and under mm. As each switch it i contacted the circuit 7 in whichit is located is opened. Inasmuch, how- I ever, as each such circuit also has a push button switch 51 therein, nothing happens electrically unless both switches of each such circuit are closed at the time of the striking. That condition exists only ifa push button 51 has been In Fig. 8, I illustrate the wiring diagram of the various circuits. In this view the main circult commences and finishes at the bottom of the diagram. The reference character 60 indiagain cause" the chimesj machine in contact with the influence of its return spring the striker will 7 to ring, "indicating the completion of that operation; The process is repeated every time one of the push buttons 57 is operated.

Having described my invention, what claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

' 1. In a refrigeration device, including an outer shell, an inner shell, and

coils of a refrigerating said inner shell, the combination of a storage section rotatable in the space defined by said inner shell, the said storage section consisting of two or more shelves secured to one another by means of perforated walls, there being also a display section comprising another shelf positioned above said storage shelves,

and means including tracks for supporting said shelves.

2. In a refrigeration device such as defined in claim 1, the combination of an electric motor, a

when the compartment'selected reaches a predetermined position.

3. In a refrigeration device such as defined in claim 1, including a door in said shells, the combination of a plurality of selector switches adjacent the exterior of said door, there being a switch for each compartment of said storage section, an electric motor for rotating said stor age and display sections, and circuits for said motor and said switches arranged so that upon the closing of any one of said switches the storage and display sections will rotate until the compartment corresponding to that switch is in alignment with the door in said shells, whereupon the storage display sections will automatically stop.

4. In a refrigeration device as defined in claim 1, including a door in said shells, the combination of an electric motor for rotating said storage section, selector switches on the exterior of said shells adjacent said door, circuits for said motor and said switches and electrical means for looking said door, said electrical locking means being arranged in said circuits so that the said door remains closed while the said storage section is rotating.

5. In a refrigeration device as defined in claim 1, including a door in said shells, the combination of a motor for rotating said storage and display sections, push button switches adjacent said door,

circuits for said switches and said motor, a nonrotating, non-conductive disc concentric with said storage section, circuit breakers in said disc, there being a circuit breaker for each of said circuits, and a member rotatable with said storage section and adapted to. consecutively actuate said circuit'breakers, whereby the rotation of said storage and display sections may be stopped at predetermined positions.

6. In a refrigeration device as defined in claim 1, includinga door in said shells, the combination of a window in said shells positioned above and in alignment with said door, and one or more inclined platforms on said display shelf, arranged to be moved past the said window during the rotation of said storage and display shelves.

7. In a refrigeration device as defined in claim 1, including a door in said shells, the combination of-a window in said shells positioned above and in alignment with said door, and one or more inclined platforms on said display shelf, arranged divided into a plurality of display spaces, there being a display space above and in alignment with each one of the compartments of the said storage section.

8. In a refrigeration device as defined in claim 1, including a door in said shells, the combination of a window in said shells positioned above and in alignment with saiddoor, and one or more inclined platforms on said display shelf, arranged to be moved past the said window during the rotation of said storageand display shelves, the said inclined platforms being perforated, and divided' into a plurality of display spaces, there being a display space above and in alignment with eachone of the compartments of the, said storage section, and there being a second door in thetop of said shells through which the said display spaces are made accessible from the outside.

9. In a refrigeration device as defined in claim 1., including a door in said shells, the combination of an electric motor for rotating said storage section, selector switches on the exterior of said shells adjacent said door, circuits, for said motor and said switches and electrical means for locking said door, said electrical locking means being 7 arranged in said circuits so that the said door remains closed while the said storage section is rotating, and audible signal elements in the said circuits to indicate the rotation and stopping of said storage section.

10. The combination defined in claim 1, wherein the said rotatable storage section is provided with ,vertical and horizontal wiping blades adapted to contact the inside surfaces of said inner .shell, there being a removable collector basin extending through the said outside shell, the interior of said basin being in communication with an opening in the said inside shell, whereby accumulations of frost and the likeremoved from the inside walls of said inner shell, by the said wiping blades, may be collected in said basin and readily removed from the device.

11. The combination defined in claim 1, including a dead air space located below the said rotat- I between the walls of the said outershell, there being a collectorbasin in said deadair space,

the interior of said basin being in communication with the interior of said inner shell.

12. The combination deflnedin claim 1, includ ing a dead air space located below the said rotatto be moved past the said window during the rotation of said storage and display shelves, the said inclined platforms being perforated, and

able storage section, and positioned between the said inner shell and a false bottom extending between the walls of the said outer shell, there being a collector basin in said dead air space, the interior of said basin being in communication with the interior of said inner shell, and alive air space below said dead air space, the said live l I air space being arranged to house the motor and other power elements used to rotate the said A storage section;

LEONARD F. CLERC. 

